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 Orchid Lake is also known as Southern Tan. Its ancient name was Red Hair Bi. Lan Tan is located at the eastern suburb of Chiayi City. It is a wide lake with green waves. Orchid Lake is surrounded with hills and known for its beauty scenery, specially at nights within moonlight. Boating under moonlight on Orchid Lake is one of the eight wonders of Chiayi. Highway is built around the Lake. The first sight along the Lake is the Viewing Tower (觀賞樓). The top of Viewing Tower gives a complete picture of Orchid Lake and the sights of Chiayi City. After Viewing Tower and along the path, a right turn at the intersection leads to the green and lustre pasture of Orchid Lake camping area. This area can accommodate over 30 tents for four people. Tenting here is a great comfort. It takes approximately 90 minutes to walk around the whole lake. With breeze on the face and sights of the trees, it is a very pleasant walk. Orchid Lake has different beauties in four seasons. The rainy season of late summer and early autumn makes the place looks like a water land. The misty fog of winter shrouds the lake with a mysterious veil.

The rivers in Taiwan are short and brisk. Help is always required for waterway passengers. Bajiang River is an important waterway with a large number of ferries. The major one is next to Ambitabha Temple. Although there were many ferries in Taiwan in the past, a vast majority of them do not leave any trace. Bajiang River Obligatory Ferry is one of the few remaining. This type of obligatory ferry in line with the environment is a rare right. Baijiang River is the old name for the Bajhang River. The establishment of the obligatory ferries is very meaning to the selection of traffic routes and the development of cities in the early days of Taiwan. Bajiang River Obligatory Ferry was a very boost to business and transportation to and from Chiayi City, as well as the economic development of the Chiayi region. The Bajiang River Obligatory Ferry is a testimony to history. In the 17th year of the Reign of Emperor Qian Long in the Qing Dynasty, Monk Yuan Zang from Zhangzhou raised funds to establish a Buddhist temple at the ferry. Ambitabha Temple was the result of his efforts. In the 38th year of the Reign of Emperor Qian Long, Ambitabha Temple was re-established and became the most famous Buddhist temple within and without Jhulo Town. This temple went through a number of massive renovations and refurbishments. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Jhulo Town was a strategic point in the north. Sacrifices of solders and civilians were nothing new whenever there were turbulent times. Civilian Tower (義民塔) and Tablet in Memory of Civilians Who Sacrificed Their Lives to Protect the City (聯義局民團守城殉難碑 are both reminders of this chapter in history. (Bajiang River Obligatory Ferry is listed as a Level Three Ancient Monument.)

Chia Yi Town, 62 meters in height, has its shape similar with that of the Sacred Tree of Alishan. Its brown-color textures composed of aluminum stripes resemble the bark of the Sacred Tree. The 40-meter “Vertical Line to Heaven” in the middle has a bronze statue of the Sun Shooter in the legend of the aboriginals. This beautiful legend highlights the heritage humans pass down one generation to another. It is an inspiring and uplifting story.

At the entrance to Chia Yi Tower are bronze statues of a pair of clouded leopards, as Protector of Formosa. At the bottom of Chia Yi Tower is Martyrs' Shrine. At the top are a coffee shop, restaurant and a viewing tower. On the slope of Chia Yi Tower are beautiful and eye-catching Hong Kong orchid flowers, also a city flower of Chiayi. The top of Chia Yi Tower commands the complete magnificent sights Chiayi City, a beautiful mountain town. Historic Information Center of Chiayi City and Chia Yi Tower were a studio of cleansing and an office building attached to Chiayi Shrine during the Japanese Colonial Period. A studio of cleansing is where people make preparations by abstaining from certain foods before making offers at shrines. An office building is where administration is managed for the shrine.

All the renovations and refurbishments are commissioned by the Chiayi City Government on the principles of “no changes to the main structures”, “maintaining the original looks and styles”, “restoration of the original architectural elements” and “synchronization with the park environment”.

In October 1998, the two buildings were classified by the Chiayi City Government as an ancient monument and were named “Historic Information Center of Chiayi City”. On September 15, 2001, Historic Information Center of Chiayi City became operational and opened to the public. It displays the items and introduces the events relevant to people and matters in Chiayia. The juxtaposition of the past and the present allows both to demonstrate their charms and encourages residents to love this land.

The studio of cleansing occupied an area of 267 square meters while the office building occupies an area of 208 square meters. They are the Japanese-style study halls, graceful and elegant, with elements such as ceiling, square pillars, tatami, paper sliding doors and external hallways. Such Japanese-style study halls are rarely seen in Taiwan.

Chicken Rice is almost a synonym of Chiayi. There are countless chicken rice offerings in the Chiayi brand. The founding shop Fountain Fire Chicken Rice, located next to the central fountain, has a long-standing history of half a century after it started operations in 1949. The shop, set up by Lin Tien-Shou, has become a landmark of Chiayi. According to the second-generation shop-owner, Lin Jhao-Jheng, indicated that Cin-Ji Turkey Farm is his long-term partner. Chi-Ji Turkey Farm is the first turkey farm that breeds and markets turkeys in Taiwan. Every morning, newly slaughtered turkeys are shipped to Fountain Fire Chicken Rice and cooked with low fire for two hours until they are cooked. Turkeys should be cooked with low fire because quick fire tends to overcook them, yet leaving the inside uncooked. The best turkeys are those who are eight months ago and weigh 20 kilograms. Turkeys are unknown for their slightly coarse but flexible texture. Fountain Fire Chicken Rice always serves the freshest and delicious turkeys. Shredded or sliced turkey is placed on the top of rice, sprinkled with chicken broth and pork sauces. It has a unique taste. ~ Address: No. 325, Jhong Shan Road, Chiayi City

[Dao-Kou Chicken】was developed by Chef Jia, the first-generation restaurant owner. The restaurant is currently run by the second generation. Dao-Kou is the name of the place along He-Nan Route Chin Rail Line. Dao-Kou Chicken is world famous for its secret recipe consisting of a unique blend of precious Chinese herbs. Empress Dowager Cixi of the Cing Dynasty once assigned it to be sent to the palace. Chicken is first sealed in hot oil and then brewed in the broth consisting of over 20 Chinese herbs. The cooked chicken looks yellow on the surface but turns blackish after being cooled down with an electric fan. Dao-Kuo Chicken is tasty, not oily or greasy , and it does not carry any Chinese medicine flavour. However, it has medicinal properties and is good for health. Chef Jia charges NT$280 per chicken. The restaurant was relocated to its current address due to the re-construction of military villages after 27 years in the previous location. The restaurant provides approximately 100 chickens weekdays and 300 over weekends and holidays.

As religious offerings are a big thing in Chiayi, the restaurant has particularly good sales on the first and fifteen of each lunar-calendar month. There will always be a long queue in July (lunar calendar) and Chinese New Year. ~ Address: No. 70, Jhong Shan Road, Chiayi City

The Guo family has been working on rice cubes for nearly 50 years. They started with steamed rice cakes, pan fried rice cakes to rice cube soup. The three generations, from Guo Dang, Guo Jing-Cheng to Guo Rong-Zong, make this restaurant a popular and famous cuisine choice. It has attracted many celebrities here for a bite. The Guo family insists on quality with their emphasis on the choice of rice. Their rice cubes are made with rice grounded manually. The rice cubes seasoned with oily chives are cooked in a big pot, with broth and intestines. The cooked rice cubes are added with pig-blood soup, intestines, sauerkraut, leeks, oily shallots and black pepper and served hot as refreshment or a meal. The unique taste of these rice cubes makes it a hearty gourmet choice. Also, the restaurant offers a variety of appetizers, such as cool mixed gourd, jelly fish shreds, five-flavor fish belly, animal insides with oyster sauce, five-spice duck feet, crispy intestines, squid, and thousand-year egg tofu. These appetizers are also well-known. ~ Address: No. 148, Wen-Hua Road, Chiayi City ~

Min Guo Road has been known as the “Street of Pastry”. Most of the restaurants and eateries operate at daytime, in line with the schedule of students and public servants. The cluster of pastry and noodle shops has a lot to do with the military communities along Min Guo Road. The earliest dozens of eateries next to each other were opened by veterans from China decades ago. These noodle eateries sell northern style food, such as hard-grilled rolls, steamed bread rolls, red bean pastry, sticky buns and noodles. The fact that they are delicious and reasonably priced is one of the characteristics of food in Chiayi. Among all the pastries in Chiayia City, cubic pastry is the most famous one. The first cubic pastry is “Grace Cubic Pastry” marketed by Dang Chang-Fa, a marathon runner. Cubic pastry is a Chinese style pastry baked with layers of pastry with low fire.

The recipe goes back to ancient times and comes with a variety of ingredients. TK Food Co. Ltd.’s cubic pastry has always been very popular with consumers. The company has been constantly developing new flavours. In addition to the large variety of the traditional cubic pastry, the company has also developed ［Oland Pastry歐蘭蘇］,［Thousand-Layer Pastry］ and ［pineapple cakes］ to meet the market demands as a response to the support of consumers. Cubic pastry was modified from the moon cakes and grilled cakes in Hebei Province, China. The shape of pastry was also changed from round to square. The main ingredients are flour, sesames and vegetable oils. Cubic pastry can be either savoury or sweet. It is suitable to vegetarians and comes with a dozen flavours, such high fibre, butter, seaweed, green onions, almonds, vegetables, eggs, almond nuts, green tea, brown sugar, high calcium, cheese, curry, sesames and tea plums. They all preserve the unique and wonderful texture of traditional cubic pastry but come with innovative designs and packaging. As the ingredients are solid and the quality is high, they are hugely popular in Taiwan and overseas.

~ Address: No. 123, Min-Guo Road, Chiayi City ~